The Church and Central Plaza, Copan Ruinas

Parque Central e Iglesia, Copán Ruinas, originally uploaded by Adalberto.H.Vega.

The Central Plaza in Copan Ruinas, Honduras is going through some radical transformations. Apparently the municipal authorities had finally come to their senses and realized that the Central Plaza in a small town like Copan Ruinas should not have that many ornaments and walls inside.

It is the same situation as any other town in Honduras (or Latin America) that has the typical layout of the Spanish cities, with the church opposite to the government building. The Central Plaza doesn't have any walls or tall edifications inside, because buildings around have even more historical value to be appreciated from the plaza itself.

Although a properly maintained—beautifully adorned Central Plaza contributes to the embellishment of the city, Central Plazas should not be crowded with vision-obstructive elements that impede the view of those historically valuable buildings.

The actual Plaza with all those decorations inside (and an unnecessary wall in the south side) was created by the same architect who designed the Central Plaza in Puerto Cortes, but the difference in that city as compared to Copan —no offense to the Porteños— is that the only pretty element in the city is the Plaza itself. There are no historical buildings around worthy of singular appreciation.

Let's hope the remodeling process won't suffer the same interference as the so—called garden refurbishing.

A good opportunity to visit Honduras

As in many other cases regarding destinations, Honduras situation is mainly one of wrong-perception in sense of issues that may affect travelers.

Central Park, Copan Ruinas

We have a calm environment since even before the elections back in November 2009, and there has been no signs of safety and security threats along the country.

The US Embassy had canceled the travel alert to Honduras: “…Since the peaceful and transparent elections on November 29, 2009, political violence in the country has decreased considerably. The State Department canceled the travel alert for Honduras on December 8, 2009…” ~http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1135.html

And Canada Foreign Affair's website regarding Honduras shows that “…There is no Official Warning for this country. …” ~http://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/report_rapport-eng.asp?id=121000

If anything, this low demand situation, has caused hotels in main touristic sites like Roatan and Copan to drop their prices down to 50% discounts, which could be a good opportunity for Adventure Travelers to come and visit our country.

West Bay Beach, Roatan

A few samples of current promotional packages here: http://bit.ly/anqeu1 and here: http://bit.ly/bs5aEi

Original Rosalila Temple, Tunnels - Copan Ruinas Maya Site

Come and take advantage of these specials to visit this 'off-the-beaten-path' destination, You will truly enjoy it!

Cloister of St Jerome the Royal - Madrid

I was surprised when I received a flickr message asking permission to include this photo in the newly released 7th edition of Schmap Madrid Guide

Iglesia de San Jeronimo - Madrid, originally uploaded by Adal-Honduras.

This photo was taken on February 2, 2008 during a trip to Madrid to attend FITUR. A really nice church from the XV Century, located in front of the Museo del Prado, besides the Real Academia de la Lengua.

Cloister of St Jerome the Royal — Calle Moreto 4 — Madrid, Madrid 28014
A church, popularly known as Los Jerónimos, that's full of history - kings and queens sought refuge here, Spanish parliaments were sworn in here, Alfonso XIII was married here and King Juan Carlos I was proclaimed King of Spain in this very building. It dates back to the 16th century, but has been restored several times and only a few external features remain from its early days. Inside, you'll see famous paintings by Carducho and José Méndez along with valuable sculptures like Juan de Mena´s 18th-century Cristo de la Buena Muerte, neo-Gothic lamps and stained-glass windows. It's close to the following museums: Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza and Ejército (Army), as well as the Ritz and Palace hotels. — Review © 2009, Wcities

Schmap Madrid Map: